---
modificationDate: May 06, 2026
title: Universal
description: Cross-platform components for building shared UIs across Android, iOS, and web with @expo/ui.
sourceCodeUrl: 'https://github.com/expo/expo/tree/sdk-56/packages/expo-ui'
packageName: '@expo/ui'
platforms: ['android', 'ios', 'web', 'expo-go']
---

<AgentInstructions>

## Submitting Feedback

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</AgentInstructions>

# Universal

Cross-platform components for building shared UIs across Android, iOS, and web with @expo/ui.
Android, iOS, Web, Included in Expo Go

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). Use this file to discover all available pages.

The universal components in `@expo/ui` are a single-API layer over the platform-native UI toolkits. On Android, they delegate to [`@expo/ui/jetpack-compose`](/versions/v56.0.0/sdk/ui/jetpack-compose). On iOS, they delegate to [`@expo/ui/swift-ui`](/versions/v56.0.0/sdk/ui/swift-ui). On web, they're JS implementations using `react-dom` or `react-native-web` and are picked per component to suit the control.

## Installation

```sh
npx expo install @expo/ui
```

If you are installing this in an [existing React Native app](/bare/overview), make sure to [install `expo`](/bare/installing-expo-modules) in your project.

## Usage

Universal components must still be wrapped in a [`Host`](/versions/v56.0.0/sdk/ui/universal/host), but you import everything, including `Host`, from the package root. The universal `Host` dispatches to the platform-native host on Android and iOS, so there's no need to reach for [`@expo/ui/swift-ui`](/versions/v56.0.0/sdk/ui/swift-ui) or [`@expo/ui/jetpack-compose`](/versions/v56.0.0/sdk/ui/jetpack-compose) directly.

```tsx
import { Host, Column, Button, Text } from '@expo/ui';

export default function Example() {
  return (
    <Host style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Column spacing={12} alignment="center">
        <Text>Hello, world!</Text>
        <Button label="Press me" onPress={() => alert('Pressed')} />
      </Column>
    </Host>
  );
}
```

## When to use this versus `swift-ui` / `jetpack-compose`

-   Reach for **universal** components when you want one component tree that runs unmodified on Android, iOS, and web. The platform-native look and feel is preserved on Android and iOS because the components delegate to Jetpack Compose/SwiftUI under the hood.
-   Reach for **[`@expo/ui/swift-ui`](/versions/v56.0.0/sdk/ui/swift-ui)** or **[`@expo/ui/jetpack-compose`](/versions/v56.0.0/sdk/ui/jetpack-compose)** directly when you need platform-specific controls, modifiers, or behavior that the universal API doesn't surface.